After receiving this note, we did indeed send Alex an autographed copy of The Go-Giver—and we were blown away by his book report. In more than two years since the book’s release, Alex is the very first person to write to us with insight on why we chose the name Pindar for the mentor in the story, and what its implications are. Remarkable insights. Keep your eye on this young man: he’s going places. Here is the report:

The Go-Giver
By Alex Hines

This is a story of a man, Joe, who learns the 5 Laws.

My understanding of this book is that Joe is learning all these laws and putting them into everyday life. Once he learns all of them and does that, he receives great things, in his case a major part in a business.

He learned through Pindar, but I don’t think Pindar is the person who is teaching them, I think that it is many people who pass on the 5 Law philosophy once they have learned it from their own Pindar.

For example, in the end of the book, Joe took Claire, a seeker of his secret, to Ernesto Iafrate’s Café so she as well could learn. So in my mind, Joe just became another Pindar, and after Claire learns, she will become one as well.

Pindar is also a very symbolic name for the teachers. Pindar is a Greek poet and philosopher who taught many life lessons through his stories. Pindar is described as someone with a great storyteller’s voice in the book. I think Mann and Burg purposefully picked that name for the group of people.

Another thing that led me to have this view on the book: on the Internet, Pindar’s age was never revealed and nobody knew his last name. Do you want to know why? Because the author purposefully wanted you to see that it was a passed down philosophy for success that everyone can learn and teach.

Now I can go by Pindar’s laws and become a Pindar myself.

Certainly, life experiences such as caring for my siblings when I was very young molded me. In the same way, a near-death experience nurtured my giving nature and caused me to pay attention to what is really important. And I paid attention to living by and being taught quotes such as the following (to name a few):

“You get more joy out of the giving to others, and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” — John Andrew Holmes

I’ve been taught all my life that “Giving is its own reward … Giving is a mighty mission … It is more blessed to give than to receive — and never mind the return, the return will take care of itself.”

I was brought up on Southern hospitality — and did not know that a person could give too much.

When my marriage was falling apart, I went to a marriage counselor, alone, who told me in a negative way, that I was a “good and faithful servant.”

I remember thinking at the time, “Isn’t that what I am supposed to be?”

The problem was: I wasn’t receiving anything back, and I was drained.

I’ve always believed that to feed my soul, the best thing I could do is to give to someone who couldn’t give back to me, so why wouldn’t it work for a one-sided marriage? My husband didn’t know how to give, so couldn’t this situation be a feeding of my soul?

I was trying desperately to continue to give, because I knew that once I stopped giving, the marriage would be over. And I was right.

I learned that in some relationships, we must receive in order to keep giving, or the relationship falls apart.

In some life situations, it’s possible to give without the thought or the need for return.

One small example: 10 years ago, I had so many accumulated PTOs (Paid Time Off-days) that I shared my abundance with people who were ill or injured. If there was a call for help, I gave, whether I knew the person in need or not. And I always gave anonymously, because I did not want anyone to feel obligated to me in any way and that was a big part of feeding my soul.

In some life situations, the gift given without expectation of return returns in unexpected ways.

Fast forward to today: I quit my job working for a consulting firm and went to work for a hospital about 8 months ago.

I was injured at home. I had enough PTOs for two weeks of pay on December 10th. The Human Resources representative told me that when I ran out of PTOs, my job would be posted; in short, I would lose my job. It was policy, and the director “is a stickler for policy.”

It’s now Jan 21st, and I’ve had complications; I still have not been able to return to work. But I still have a job waiting for me.

Something amazing has been happening. People are giving me their PTOs!

Something else has happened too: someone cared enough to dig deeper into policies — and found a loophole. I’m now on medical leave.

People are volunteering to do so much for me. They want to give to me. They act like they are honored when I need a ride (because with my injury, I can’t drive).

To be honest, I would rather be the one giving, and I truly always believed that the biggest blessings came from giving — but today I am being blessed by receiving and giving the gift of allowing others to give to me. It’s humbling, but soul-feeding, too.

Several years ago I was VERY pregnant w/ twins, ready to burst and so tired as we left a parking lot, but my husband saw a car stranded in the busy street and instinctively pulled over to help the driver. I protested (I’m embarrassed to admit it), “Honey, she already has a cop here to help her.”

He looked at me and said, “Yes, but he can’t move her car by himself — and besides, one day my sweet wife could be stranded somewhere, and I’ll want to know that someone will help her.”

Two weeks later I got a flat tire late at night and pulled in the closest driveway I could find. Within moments, a guy hopped out of the house and changed my tire as fast as a pit crew worker. He just laughed at my astonishment and said, “Oh, I own the body shop down the street. I do this a hundred times a day!”

When I told my husband about it he put his hands in the air and whooped, “Woo hoo — I sowed good seed for that!”

It’s nice to be married to a go-giver.